The International Space Station is an idea for an international cooperative scientific
             environment. The station maintains a low orbit around the Earth. This is 217 to 285 miles
             above the Earth. The station itself is under construction while in orbit. Construction started
             in 1998 and will take years to complete. It is estimated to be completed by the year 2006.
             Sixteen separate nations are working together to complete this massive laboratory. The
             United States is working with Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France,
             Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and
             Sweden. Each country is contributing to the construction of the station. The station is made
             up of more than 100 components and will take 44 more trips with the three main space
             vessels to complete it. It will take nearly 2000 man-hours and nearly 60 space walks to
             construct and maintain the station. After completion, the estimated lifespan of the station is
             close to ten years. The estimated cost of the station will be between 35 and 37 billion
             dollars. Once completed, the station will have several pressurized living modules and will
             The station will be comprised of several major components, such as the Control
             Module. This contains two rocket engines with command and control systems. Three Nodes
             on the station connect the sections of the station together. A Service Module contains the
             life support systems and the living space for the crew during assembly. Six different
             Scientific Laboratories contain the scientific equipment and controls a robotic arm on the
             exterior of the station. This arm can manipulate the cargo of incoming shuttles. A
             Laboratory Module is where the scientific experiments take place. The low gravity makes
             many experiments possible; in the fields of microgravity, life sciences, Earth sciences, and
             Space sciences. The Truss is a long spine used
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